Police are looking for her rapist and say it appears none of the staff members at a Phoenix long-term care facility knew about the pregnancy until the baby was born December 29, a notion that has drawn scepticism.

But the 29-year-old woman, who is described in a medical report as having tubes to feed her and help her breathe, may not have had a swollen belly, according to a doctor of foetal medicine.

While factors remain unknown, such as how far along she was, someone who is fed the same amount from a tube every day might not show any dramatic changes that would be noticed, especially by staffers who don’t work with pregnant patients, said C Kevin Huls, a clinical assistant professor and maternal-foetal medicine fellowship director at the University of Arizona.

The mother could actually lose weight in other places like her face or arms if a foetus is consuming nutrients, Dr Huls added.

“A good way to understand it is that really, the baby’s going to continue to grow even at the expense of the mom’s nutrition,” Dr Huls said.

“So, her weight may not change because she’s not taking in additional calories.

“There may be changes to her body that are going to go undetected in a chronic care condition or at a facility like this.”

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